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Wednesday, February 16, 2011

A Day in the Life of an author...plus a book giveaway

**Giveaway is now closed**

Lynda Renham-Cook is a part-time writer living in Oxfordshire with her husband and one cat. She also works in the health care field. She talks openly about being childless (not by choice) and offers support to others who are in the same position. Her most recent published novel is Wedding Cake to Turin (also available for Kindle). She has dropped by to share a guest post about a day in her life and also has offered to give away one copy of "Wedding Cake to Turin" anywhere in the world.

It is just a few weeks into 2011 and I am ready to kill the cat and cook it for dinner. I joke not. Every afternoon is my writing time. Sadly writing still does not pay enough so that I can stay home and write all day. So, until that day comes I spend all morning in the office and write in the afternoon but as we hit 2011, I realise I am not coping. So, this afternoon I thought I would check out the Gwyneth Paltrow site of how to balance life as a working woman and housewife. I mean, if you can get some celeb advice why not? After all they are just normal women like us, right? Somehow Gwyneth manages to look very serene so she must be well-balanced and organised and her hair always looks great and she never looks harassed. Unlike yours truly, who looks like she has been dragged through a bush. After browsing the very easy to navigate webpage I found a nice article on how GP and her friends get through the day so smoothly. It seems I am doing a lot wrong.First, it seems, I need to seize ‘Lynda time’. Would that be the time, I wonder, between cleaning up the cat sick and trying to flatten my hair down. Oh no, I see it now I am not getting up early enough. Must change the alarm from 6.30 to 5.30 and if you believe I am doing that you’ll believe anything. Now I have to agree with Gwyneth that exercise is my priority too, but sadly after checking out the cost of a personal trainer I find my measly salary does not quite cover one, so let’s skip that and continue with the old routine of dragging myself from the bed, moaning until I grab my first cup of caffeine. So how does a day in the life of Lynda compare to a celebrity? Be warned, it is sordid and sad and does not have the celeb feel good factor.Up at 6.30, usually moaning, drag myself downstairs and sit like a zombie on the couch while my husband prepares breakfast. Nothing to healthy about this I am afraid. A bowl of granola with some berries and yogurt, followed by my caffeine shot. A quick shower if there is time. If hubby gets there first then my shower has to wait until I get home. A quick pull up of the hair, earrings plonked on, a speedy look at the time and I am out of the door, forget any make up malarkey or quick email check. It is still dark and cold. I climb into my car and start the harrowing journey to work. This usually involves the odd curse and finger salute when other drivers won’t let me out onto the main road. Then it is a slow crawl to work. I arrive flustered, throw my coat off and sit in front of my computer and panic. It is a new job so I am keen to do well. Today the computer crashed and I didn’t get half my work done. Sheer depression drives me to a chocolate biscuit. I leave work much later than I should and decide not to get shopping on the way home as I really need to finish an article. I arrive home in a rush, walk into the house and come face to face with carnage. It looks like a murder spree took place while I was out. Dead birds litter the floor and feathers are sticking to the furniture. Wet dirty paw prints are all over the floor and the kitchen units. I scream at the cat who flees outside. I look at the clock and realise that I am already running late and I have not had lunch yet. I curse the cat again and shout out of the window he is dead meat if he returns. I search through the shed for the spade to clear up the birds and remember my darling husband still has it since the snow drifts. I curse again and spend a good thirty minutes getting up the courage to pick up the dead birds with kitchen towel. Finally, I hoover up and wash the floor. I decide to skip lunch and just have a yogurt. Finally I jump in the shower and then go to make a cup of tea. I cannot find the tea as my husband has muddled up all the boxes. I curse again and go upstairs to get clothes. On the bed are my husband’s clothes thrown across the bed. I curse again and then feel the tears start. Why can’t people make an effort? I really am not sure if I am including the cat in this. At last, almost two hours after arriving home I sit down, take two painkillers for a headache and finish my article. Soon it will be time to cook dinner. The cat sleeps contently on the couch again, his massacre obviously a distant memory now and I sit with the song “I don’t like Monday’s” going over and over in my head while pointing a shotgun at him.

Thanks again to Lynda for sharing her day with us and for offering the book for the giveaway.

How to win "Wedding Cake to Turin":Please comment below with your e-mail address.(Please note: Entries without an e-mail address will NOT be counted. You can use AT and DOT to avoid spam. Or provide a link to your facebook page if you can receive messages there.)

1. Please tell us: What is your LEAST favorite day of the week and why?2. Please tell us: What is the craziest thing your pet has ever done? (If you don't have a pet, share a story about someone else's pet with whom you are close.)3. Follow this blog and post a comment saying you are a follower (if you already follow, that's fine too).4. Post this contest on Facebook or Twitter or in your blog, and leave a comment saying where you've posted it.5. Join Chick Lit Central on Facebook. (If you're already a member, let us know that too.)

Would love to win this!My least favorite day is Sunday, because it causes me to produce so much anxiety over the misery that Monday might bring; I can't even enjoy the last day of the weekend because I'm so anxious!One of my silly kitties actually climbs doors. Like, he shimmies up the edge of the door and balances atop it. I follow Chick Lit Central on GFC and in a newsreader. I like Chick Lit Central on Facebook, too.

I would love to be entered. 1) Laceymatt26@yahoo.com2) My least favorite day of the week is wednesday. I feel most tired that day because it is the middle of the week and it's my hardest day of school!3)My pet once ate a pillow. Yes a pillow. There were pillow pieces all over the house when we got home that day. 4) I follow this blog

My son's basset hound eats whatever she can find. Unfortunately that usually follows with a trip to the vet and high vet bills. She ate Gorilla Glue once....not a good thing. That stuff expands when it gets wet and can require major surgery. Fortunately, that didn't need to be dome.

I have two cockatiels, Squeaky and Speckles. There is a TV show that we watch occaisonllay that has a very loud eagles screech before the beginnng of the show. Speckles always screeches back no matter where he is.

1)My FAVOURITE day of the week: Saturday, my least favourite day: Monday, you always have to change the routine... uf uf.... get up earlier..2) I don't have a pet but a friend of mine had a cat who was crazy and always was jumping over the wall in the hall entrance and was because of his SHADOW, plays with himself, jeje3)Follower of Chick Lit Central: The blog4)Put in my FB frontpage5) email: smdiazz33@hotmail.comPS: Sorry for the english, it is not very good, jeje

My rabbit killed itself. Suicidal bunny. No joke, it was horrifying. We had a oudoor pen with a covered ramp. the bunny somehow got on top of the ramp roof and tried to jump out of the pen fence which was a good distance... at least 4-5 feet... didn't make it. fell on her back and broke her spine which of course killed her instantly. I saw it... the crazy thing is .. she tried stuff like this all the time. The rabbit was crazy insane. It wasn't good enough to just eat carrots and lettuce while gingerly hopping...

Every day with Piper is something new... she does lots of little silly things... playing with the newspaper while it's being read, perching on my shoulder all the time... if anything crinkles, she has to be there!

My little green macaw got out of the house once, when his flight feathers had just grown in, and started dive bombing the other birds in the sky. He ended up in a tree a couple of blocks away, and my hubby had to climb up and get him. We found the little green turd because he was up there saying "good boy? apple?". Now we make sure to lock the doors when he's outside of his cage... and he says a lot more of "You're a BRAT!" than "good boy".

My dogs learned how to open the refrigerator door and help themselves. One day they opened it up, let my cat in to eat the pork chops and closed it behind her, trapping her in there for a few hours. She survived, but never fully recovered from it. We ended up having to put a lock on the fridge to keep them out!

1) By far, my least favorite day is Monday. I'm working basically two full time jobs (just started out as a realtor) and Monday means back to my other job as a Paralegal - after doing that for over 25 years I'm definitely ready for a change!2) Our dog, Panda, a Siberian Husky, passed away two years ago. however, when she was a pup, we left her alone in her room (the mudroom) for a few hours and when we came back, she had chewed what looked like the map of Africa through the sheetrock! Never left her alone for a long time after that!3) I'm now a follower! I loved your blog - we are also childless but we areby choice.4) Posted on Facebook - here's my link: facebook.com/forger1 5) Already a member of ChickLit Central and love it!

The craziest thing my dog ever did was eat the handle off of my brother's bowling ball bag (in addition to the chair legs, my mom's car tax bill, etc. etc.) This was when she was a puppy. She later ended up being one of the BEST dogs ever.

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